Made in 1957 by Northern Films, LETTER FROM ALASKA shows the Alaska of that era: its cities, people, industries, climate, the Alaska Railroad, and a review of the state’s history from 1741 to the present.

This film uses the device of a reporter writing a letter about his life and travels in Alaska. At mark 0:30, he is seen typing his letter with a typewriter.

You can drive across Canada either of two highway which leads Dawson Creek. This is where the Alaska Highway begins. The distances are longer between the cities and town here. It’s the middle of January and the temperature is cool here as seen at mark 1:15. He explains on his trip to his destination. At mark 2:07, he found a crew from an oil company drilling. At mark 2:35, they crossed the border into Alaska. The far the north he travelled, the more he realize that winter doesn’t slow things down a bit. At mark 3:20, a moose is seen running through the highway, in another spot buffalos. At mark 3:40, he enters anchorage, Alaska’s largest city just in time where a carnival is going on. Every day during this carnival, there is an auction at mark 4:40. Eskimos also come to the carnival to share great legends of the past as seen at mark 4:55. At mark 5:14 is a ball game on the snow. Going to school in Alaska is like the same when going to school in California or in the other states. At mark 5:45, the school is seen. At mark 6:00, there are people near shore sunbathing during summer. Everyone enjoys their lives here. At mark 7:03, a small village is seen at Aniak 300 miles west of Anchorage. Eskimo mothers are seen here cleaning and washing their salmon at mark 7:30 and they have been doing this year after year for centuries.. The standard of living of Eskimos here is far below that of the white people of Alaska. Many Eskimos have moved from their smaller villages too bigger ones and they have been earning their living from nature by hunting and fishing or by picking berries as seen at mark 8:20. The reason Eskimos are so poor is that steady work are so scarce although once in a while they are available as it was in the Tin mine seen at mark 8:35, north of Nome. This is the only place in North America where tin is found.

At mark 9:07, the story was taken back to 1741 when Alaska was discovered by Russian expedition by two ships as seen at mark 9:25. Russian churches still stand in Alaska as seen at mark 9:00. Russia sold Alaska to USA in 1867 for $7,200,000, then American begin to explore the land as seen at mark 9:55. At mark 9:57, gold is seen; the biggest discovery is between 1897-1903. They discovered that Alaska is large and it has rugged mountains as seen at mark 10:50. Here heavy snowfalls, rivers of ice are seen. A glacier is not a place to go skating as seen at mark 12:05. Here in Alaska you can drive close to the glaciers. There are many pretty things you get to do here in Alaska like throw small rocks in water and it keeps floating as seen at mark 13:22. This is because they are rock of commerce and they came from a volcano. The volcano is seen at mark 13:30 which exploded in 1912. It looks peaceful already but just before that here is how it looked (seen at mark 13:43). Alaska also has different volcanoes. At mark 14:20, action of volcano is seen. At mark 15:06, the Yukon River is seen and Mt. McKinley. This river has made Alaska’s landscape a jigsaw puzzle. At mark 15:35, Alaska’s wildlife are seen. We have the mountain sheep, bear, moose and also salmons which Alaska is famous for. For many years, the salmon fishing industries was larger than any other up north and very profitable as seen at mark 16:10. Over the years, overfishing and inadequate regulation have depleted the harvesting of salmons and communities who gain from fishing is turning to other activities. Ketchikan which use to call itself the salmon capital of the world now moves to timber activities as seen at mark 16:45. They have the development of hydro power as seen at mark 17:12 and 17:20. Transportation to interior Alaska is provided by railroads as seen at mark 17:30. The railroads start at Seward. Here again we see that living in Alaska is almost about living in Colorado as seen through mark 18:20. A fair is seen at mark 18:05. Here are farmers and their children. At mark 19:50, the author concludes his letter.

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com